*Isaac*
My office feels like it’s caving in on me as I tap my fingers on my desk and stare down at the profiles scattered across the wooden surface. The same desk I used to sit beneath as a child while my dad conducted pack business is now littered with pictures and essays written by women I don’t know.
And I don’t really care to know them either.
Dad is going to be livid when he finds out what I’m doing. Mom, too. Especially Mom, now that I think about it. They went through hell and back to be together and raised me and Ella to never have to worry about being in the position I’m willingly putting myself in.
It’s not like I’m looking for a breeder.
I’m looking for a wife.
“For the love of the Goddess,” I breathe, pinching the bridge of my nose as my head begins to throb.
“You still have time to back out,” Cassian grins from the red leather sofa across from my desk. His ankles are crossed over one of the arm rests as he lounges aimlessly, still in jeans and an old college T-shirt. His coppery blond hair nearly touches his shoulders. He decided not to cut it all summer and autumn, probably to grind his father’s gears.
Cassian is the son of my dad’s commander, Leo Fendley. We’ve been best friends since boyhood. He’s always had my back, even when we were up to something none of our parents would have been proud of.
This, however?
“You know I can’t,” I reply. “Plus, they’ll be here within the hour.”
“So what? You look like you’re ready to throw yourself through the window behind you.”
“I’ve considered it.” I start shuffling the papers into a neat pile.
“Well, consider it some more. We can ditch this joint and go out tonight. Get some beer, talk to some girls, play some pool–”
“You need to get dressed.”
Cassian purses his lips and glances in my direction before rolling his eyes to the ceiling. “I hate that you’re doing this to yourself. Shackling yourself to a stranger just to appease the Alphas.”
“I don’t have a choice. I need their armies. They want me to have a wife, an heir, someone to carry on my line if I die in battle. It’s a fair trade off.”
“A fair trade off?” he exclaims, swinging his feet to the ground and sitting up straight. “You’re twenty-four years old, Isaac.”
“And I’m the Alpha King.” I meet his eyes, my gaze hard and demanding. Cassian drops his boyish demeanor in an instant and turns into the brute force that made me choose him as my Beta. My father’s Beta, Elijah, didn’t have a male heir, so I didn’t have to worry about bloodlines, thank the Goodess.
Cassian is ruthless, merciless, and something to be feared. You wouldn’t know it just by looking at him, but it didn’t take much for it to come out full force. When my dad stepped aside and allowed me to take his place on the throne, I knew I’d need someone like Cassian in my corner. Someone willing to put everything on the line for his King, for his friend, and for his brother.
That’s what I consider him. A brother, a friend. Someone who knows what lurks beyond the towering mountains south of Moorn where that mythical river disappears into the mist, and the very reason I have to make these moves now, before it’s too late.
Alpha King Kane has been making moves again. Slow, deliberate moves, but moves all the same. I don’t know what he wants, and I don’t care, but the image of the young queen dying at my mother’s feet in the ballroom has been seared into my mind since I was a child.
King Kane isn’t a normal Alpha or a normal wolf. His scouts move like mist, and the destruction they cause has no end and no beginning. I have to give credit where credit is due, however. Without Kane clawing his way into my lands, I would have never convinced my dad to give me his title so early in my life.
In the three years I’ve been Alpha King of Crescent Falls, I’ve added hundreds of miles to my territory. My kingdom prospers, a new, modern era ushered in by a young, iron-fisted king. With the help of Elijah, my father’s Beta, I added the rogue territory south of Moorn to my kingdom, their people bending the knee to my throne in return for my protection from a threat only I could understand.
My parents are legendary, but the truth of their lives before and shortly after I was born is shrouded in myth. The minds of the people in my kingdom can only go so far when it comes to the mystical and unknown. They don’t understand my mother’s powers, though they are grateful for them and admire them. Their stories grow beyond what she is actually able to accomplish when she waves her hand and summons her powers.
Our people think we are infallible because of it.
I know better. And one look at those distant mountains veiled by impenetrable clouds tells me whatever lies on the other side has the advantage of the unknown.
Magic. Great magic.
And Crescent Falls doesn’t stand a chance against Kane unless our Alphas are allied without any doubts.
So, I will give the Alphas what they want, regardless of how my family feels about the fact that I have yet to locate my mate. While some Alphas choose to use a Breeder without marriage, I want my parents to think I have at least found love even if I haven’t found my elusive mate.
The two of us agree to meet in the hallway in a few minutes, and Cassian heads out to get changed.
“How many are there?” I ask Cassian as we walk through the castle I grew up in. A maid scurries out of our way as we walk shoulder to shoulder down a narrow, winding hallway to the main wing of the mansion.
Cassian, now in black dress pants and a white button down shirt, his hair brushed back away from his face, checks his watch before saying, “Four or five, I believe.”
“And their parents will be there?”
“Yes, or whoever is presenting them to court.”
I nod, nerves causing my stomach to tighten as we turn toward the throne room. I can hear conversation coming from behind the massive double doors. I hate this kind of thing. The social aspect of being the king. The grand parties, the displays of wealth and status. I’d rather be upstairs in my office plotting moves like a game of chess or facing down Alphas who think I’m nothing more than a child with a fancy crown on my head and a legacy that goes back for generations.
I don’t need to prove who I am anymore. I’ve made that perfectly clear. Finding a wife is just a roadblock, and once I’m over it, I can focus on my kingdom at large and leave things like this to her.
That’s why I created a list of exactly what I’m looking for.
“Someone dutiful.” Ella’s voice rings in my ears as the memory of her perched on the corner of my desk several days ago flashes into my mind. “Quiet, obedient. Well-bred and well mannered. Able to bear children. Goddess, Isaac. Are you looking for a life partner or a new horse?”
“This isn’t about love,” I tell myself quietly enough Cassian can’t hear me over the sound of music and chatter filtering from inside the throne room.
No, not love. It’s not about finding my mate, either. Once, three years ago, someone caught my eye and disappeared before I even had a chance to get her name. The memory of her face has blurred with time, but the feel of her hand in mine is as strong as ever.
That is as close as I’ve come to feeling the mate bond. A flicker of excitement, of attraction, maybe even just sheer curiosity.
“Open the door,” I command the two guards posted outside the throne room. The doors open wide, light spilling into the foyer as I step inside.
All conversation stops abruptly. I walk forward, nodding to the Alphas and Lunas who’ve brought their daughters. All eyes are on me as I walk to the base of the steps leading to the two gilded thrones, but I don’t sit down. I turn to face the small crowd gathered in the room–five young women and their guardians.
“Alpha King Isaac,” says one of the Alphas, a man who leads a pack in a nearby territory. “You look well.”
“Thank you,” I nod with very little emotion in my voice.
The five women before me couldn’t be more different. All of them beautiful and accomplished, all of them daughters of Alphas or Betas..
I go down the line, matching their names with the profiles I’ve read over a thousand times. Getting the word out of what I was doing without alerting my parents was hard, but I managed. These women were selected from a long list of applicants, and I know all of their details by heart, even if I feel nothing for a single one of them as I glimpse their faces.
Light conversation starts up again as the Alphas bring their daughters forward. This was meant to be casual, a meet-and-greet, as Ella would call it. Thankfully, she’s in Maatua with our parents, hopefully keeping her big mouth shut about my plans.
“Your Highness,” Lorena, a beautiful blonde woman with eyes the color of whiskey says as she curtsies. Her eyes meet mine, a soft smile touching her full lips.
“Greetings.” I try to be cordial, but it’s difficult. “Are you getting along well here in the castle?” I ask, watching her as she straightens up. Good posture. Good manners. Good breeding. Check, check, and check.
“Very well. Queen Isla has exquisite taste. The rose garden is lovely.” She glances to the side where her own mother is standing a few feet away, watching the exchange. A gentle smile passes between the women, catching my attention.
Close family ties. Check.
I open my mouth to say something, but a commotion near the entrance to the room catches my attention. A short, thin man has entered, his face red and twisted into a scowl as he leads a frail young woman into the room.
Wine-red hair falls over her shoulders, nearly touching her waist as he turns her to face the guards again. The corset of the pale blue gown she’s wearing is tied so tight she strains with each breath despite being wisp thin.
“What is the meaning of this?” I ask loudly, my voice echoing through the room. The man turns, his hand gripping the young woman’s arm so tightly his knuckles are white.
“My King,” he says with a dramatic bow. “Your guards were not aware we were coming.”
“And who are you?” I step forward to meet him, the rest of the Alphas and their daughters now behind us in a semicircle. They were all invited. He was not.
“Alester Martin, your highness. This is my niece–”
“This was invite only,” Cassian says, snapping his fingers. Two guards approach, but the man waves his hand in dismissal.
“We were invited.” He pulls out an invitation, extending it to me. “My brother is the Alpha of Silver Pass, in Celestoria–”
But I’m not looking at him any longer. I’m looking at the woman, her eyes downcast and hair partially shielding her face. Long white gloves cover her hands and rail thin arms. The man is still arguing with Cassian and the guards, and his grip on her arm loosens. She takes a small step away from him.
Then she steals a glance up at me, startling a bit, not realizing I’m standing so close. Her eyes… so familiar, but I can’t place them. The pale blue fabric of her gown reflects in her irises like a deep pool of icy, turbulent water.
“We didn’t extend invitations to Celestoria,” Cassian grinds out. I reluctantly tear my gaze from the woman and look at the man who brought her.
“That’s enough,” I say, catching Cassian’s attention as I tilt my head toward the curious crowd. I need to choose a few of the women to interview separately at another time. “The daughters of the Alphas of Western Ridge, Crescent City, and Windsong Gorge will be contacted, and–”
I hesitate to continue, to dismiss everyone now staring at me, some with heavy disappointment in their eyes.
But I turn to look at the red haired woman over my shoulder. I meet her eyes again, wondering where I’ve seen her before.
Because I’m sure I have. Part of me wants to invite her back for an interview just to find out why I recognize her.
But one look at her uncle has my shoulders tightening with disgust.
“And you,” I say to her, and then to her uncle, “May go home.”